Warmth
by shegoismyfav
Summary: She was cold. As cold as the weather, perhaps more so, and her soul was dark. But then she saw a light, and with it came warmth. Slight AU.


It was an extremely cold night, unusual for the Moors, thriving with magic as they were. Maleficent sat shivering in front of a fire Diaval had made before she sent him away for the night. Aurora was supposed to visit her tonight, and she would be lying if she said she hadn't grown quite attached to the girl. Her sixteenth birthday was looming ever closer, and with it the curse. She cringed as she remembered her failed attempt to lift the spell, her damaged heart squeezing and shuddering with pain.

She'd never admit it aloud, but she loved the blonde "beastie" as if she were her own daughter. She had taken the fragments of her heart and pieced them back together, creating something resembling a vital organ. Her darkness was beginning to fade and withdraw, something she herself had noticed and Diaval had commented on numerous times. If she were completely honest with herself, Aurora had claimed what was left of her heart. She had the power to break her, yet chose to love her.

And though her darkness was beginning to fade, just the slightest, she worried that it's damage had been done. The fae shivered as a cool breeze blew over her, tightening her furred cloak around her body. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to keep warm. And it wasn't just tonight. She remained cold, had been that way ever since she woke up on the banks of the lake to find her wings missing.

She started to slide a little closer to the fire, stopping when she heard a twig snap near the border. Smirking, she waved her hand, golden magic flowing from her fingertips to manipulate the thorn wall so Aurora could pass through. She didn't have to wait long before footsteps signaled her "goddaughter's" arrival.

"Godmother!" she called breathlessly, her words forming little clouds in the air. Maleficent frowned. Perhaps it was colder than she thought. "What's wrong? Have I upset you?" the young Princess asked when she saw her frown.

"Hmm? Oh no, I was just contemplating the weather."

Aurora smiled again, her mood never dampened for long.

"I saw the most amazing thing this afternoon!" she gushed, settling herself beside the older woman.

"And what might that be?"

"A family of bears! There were two cubs playing with their mother! They were running and tumbling everywhere, oh it was just so cute!"

The fae couldn't help but give a small quirk of the lips in response to the child's naïve tale. She was so innocent, so unburdened by the struggles of life. She sighed quietly, shivering as well, and slid closer to the crackling fire. Aurora watched her from the corner of her eye, not wanting to call attention to the movement. She worried for the older woman, who was as close to a mother as she'd ever had.

On that note, she remembered the thoughts she had been thinking earlier, after she'd read stories (having grown a bit old for fairy tales, though she still loved them) in which mothers lovingly brushed through tangled curls, or kissed scrapes, or just cuddled because they loved their child. While the faery had certainly never done anything remotely close to any of those things, only recently revealing herself as more than a shadow, Aurora found she loved her as she would a mother. At least, she supposed this was what it felt like to love a mother, not having one of her own to compare the older woman to. And she had protected and watched over her her whole life, though it was only from the shadows. She had begun to toy with the idea of addressing her as such if she would have it but worried she would somehow upset the fae.

What she didn't know was that by doing something that seemed so minuscule she would make the woman happier than she had been in a very long time. As she sat absorbed in these thoughts, Maleficent was deep into thoughts of her own. She pondered over Aurora's innocence, something more befitting a young child than a nearly grown woman. She worried that when she ventured forth into the world, as she would inevitably, whether as a Princess or a simple young woman, that she wouldn't be ready to face the harshness of the world. And it was all her fault.

Blinded by her rage and hate she had cursed the sweet child before she had a chance to live, thus leading to her being taken away from her true home and parents. And what's worse, being raised by those three imbeciles! Honestly, whoever thought it a good idea to charge three pixies with raising the heir to a kingdom? Nonetheless, what made it worse was not that she had been taken from her home, nor...raised (and she used the word loosely, more like they had supervised)...by pixies, nor even that she remained ignorant of her fate. No, the worst part was that the fae had felt no remorse in her actions.

She hadn't cared she'd cursed an innocent infant, merely unfortunate to be caught in the crossfire. She had reveled in the pain she had caused. She had enjoyed it! She recalled with extreme clarity the satisfaction the curse had brought her. The fae shivered as she recalled all these things, events and memories flashing through her mind like pages in a book.

Only this was no fairy tale. If it were, Stefan would have never become so involved in the world of humans. He would have loved her fully and they would have married (or mated, as the case were), and the wonderful little ball of light beside her would have been their child. She felt her chest constrict at thoughts of what could have been and pushed them away; they were of no use to her. She felt the darkness twist and root a little deeper in her soul while at the same time a piece fell away.

She was remorseful of her actions all those years ago, but a small part of her couldn't help but he glad her actions had brought Aurora to her. She was sure without her she would be so consumed by hate she would never stand a chance of salvation. Chills raced down her spine at these new thoughts, and she slid so close to the fire that the hem of her robes began to smoke. She felt the girl openly staring at her now. She slid back a few inches, feeling a light blush rise to her face.

Each thought she had chilled her further, and she hadn't noticed her body trembling, nor that she'd managed to get quite so far from the Princess. She hadn't stopped shivering, the combination of her dark thoughts and the cold air getting to her. Aurora bit her lip before coming to a decision and standing. She had been pulled out of her thoughts several minutes prior, not only by the increasing cold, but also by the constant trembling of her godmother. She had watched her since, emotions running rampant through her eyes almost too fast to be identified.

"I'll be back in a moment, Godmother."

Offering no further explanation, she set off toward the Rowan tree she knew to be Maleficent's home. Shedding her heavy cloak, she prepared to jump into the lower branches of the tree. Maleficent watched, equal parts concerned and amused, as Aurora tried again and again to grab hold of one of the lower branches. Finally her hand grazed one, and she grabbed hold.

"Aurora, what are you doing?" the faery called to the girl.

Aurora didn't answer, and proceeded to climb higher into the branches. She didn't stop until she came to the juncture of three large branches that made the heart of the tree. A large hammock, quite similar to a nest, rested there. Inside were several blankets of varying thickness. After much deliberation she chose one that appeared to be one of the thickest, if not the thickest.

It was lined with beautiful black fur, as equally soft as it was warm. Folding it, she swung it over her shoulder and started down. The older woman had tensed when she'd seen the girl rummaging through her nest, and felt her magic flare when she removed something from it. It looked like one of her blankets, or perhaps it was another of her possessions? But no, once Aurora began climbing down she saw it was indeed a blanket, and a heavy one at that.

She was confused. Why would the girl blatantly take something that was hers right in front of her eyes? But confusion turned to fear when she heard the branch snap. Before Aurora could scream golden magic surrounded her and a bed of leaves was beneath her. Looking closely she discovered a branch had bent to catch her and was lowering her to the ground.

Smiling, she picked up her own cloak before going back to where the older woman was sitting.

"And just what are you doing?" Maleficent asked with a raised eyebrow.

The girl just smiled and wrapped the blanket around the older woman loosely.

"You're shivering. I don't want you to catch a chill."

Reason voiced, she calmly settled down beside her, refastening her cloak as she did so. The faery was stunned, and numbly pulled the blanket tighter around herself. She wasn't used to kindness, and the gesture meant a lot to her. She felt heat begin to enter her body in the first time she could remember since the whole mess with Stefan started. She wasn't sure if it was Aurora's love or her kindness, but something was causing warmth to seep back into her body.

She glanced at the blonde, and with a pang of worry and guilt noticed she was shivering.

"Beastie," she whispered softly, opening her arm nearest the girl.

Aurora looked over at her godmother, surprised yet pleased to see the arm extended in welcome. She smiled, pure love radiating from her being. She slid over immediately, the arm and blanket curling around her mere seconds later. She sighed and curled into the older woman's side. Above her, Maleficent lips quirked upward in something that resembled a smile.

Despite the blonde's joy at her new position, she sighed, annoyed at herself and deciding to just ask her and get it over with.

"What's troubling you, Beastie?" the older woman asked as her arm tightened around the girl.

"Godmother, what if I didn't call you godmother any longer?"

Maleficent felt her heart, what little there was of it, shatter. It seemed she had misjudged the girl. The instinct to flee became present, but she couldn't move because of the way the girl was pressed against her side. Aurora felt the body next to her tense, and knew her question had been misunderstood.

"What I mean is," she continued as if she hadn't noticed the atmosphere around her thicken with tension, "that I want to call you something different. Something that better suits my view of you."

In her mind, Maleficent was panicking. Had the three idiots slipped and told her of her true identity earlier than planned? Did she know what she had done to her? Was she only pretending to be kind, only to take something as her father before her? What little warmth had built up inside her fled at this possible truth, leaving her as cold if not colder than she was before.

She began trembling more violently than she had earlier in the night, and the girl looked up at her with worry. She feared she had been too late getting the blanket, and perhaps she had caught a cold anyway. But then she saw fear glowing in those golden-green eyes and understood what was going on. Taking her life in her hands, she reached up slowly and, ignoring her godmother's flinch, turned her head to face her.

"You misunderstand," she said quietly. "I haven't changed my opinion of you, only come to realize it was higher than I thought. That my love ran deeper than I thought." She sighed. "As you know, I have no mother."

Maleficent cringed.

"But I've come to realize that I've had one without realizing it. My aunts are kind but not very attentive and easily distracted. I got into quite a bit of danger as a child, as you are well aware of. But you and Diaval always kept me safe. I knew that as long as your shadow followed me I was safe.

"That said, I've realized you and Diaval are the closest to parents I have. I was wondering, if you'll allow it, would it be all right if I addressed you as such?" At Maleficent's bewildered look, she elaborated. "Can I call you mother?"

With those five words, the fae felt her heart knit back together even stronger than before, and several layers of her darkness peeled away. Warmth rushed through her veins, and for a moment she was unable to answer, so great was her joy. Aurora, mistaking her silence as rejection, sighed dejectedly and partially moved away.

"Well then, I suppose that answers that question. I'm sorry I asked, Godmother."

Maleficent realized her mistake and rushed to right it, determined not to ruin her life for a second time. A pale hand cupped the girl's chin, forcing her to look at her godmother. Blue eyes locked with golden-green, and noticed a warmth there that hadn't been present before.

"Beastie, nothing in the world would make me happier than to be considered your mother."

Aurora beamed, so much love and happiness exploding from her being it was almost blinding. Maleficent gave a small chuckle and pulled her back to rest in her previous position. Aurora gave another sigh of happiness and wasted no time in tucking as close to the older woman as possible. The faery idly ran her fingers through blonde hair, slowly soothing the girl to the brink of sleep. She felt sleep heavy hands grasping loosely at her dress and robes.

"You're really warm, Mother," Aurora said, her words slurred with sleep.

The older woman smiled, her first true smile in years, and silently agreed with her.


End file.
